The world’s first personalised mRNA cancer jab for melanoma has cut the risk of patients dying or cancer returning by 42% when combined with immunotherapy, a large trial shows.

The drug, which was given to patients in the UK and worldwide, is also being tested in other cancers, including kidney, bladder and lung cancer.

The personalised Moderna vaccine, known as intismeran, was paired with MSD’s immunotherapy Keytruda.

It cut the risk of recurrence or death in melanoma patients by 42% two years later, compared with Keytruda alone.

The data also showed that the dual therapy cut the risk of cancer spreading or death by 38%.

About 82% of patients on the combination were still alive without melanoma returning two years later, compared with 70% of those who received Keytruda alone, the firms said.

The study included more than 1,100 people with high-risk melanoma that had been surgically removed.

Experts have described the vaccine as a “gamechanger” because it is custom-built for each person in just a few…